The new-look Netts A team – a mix of last year’s A and B teams – have wasted no time in establishing their credentials in the Braintree Table Tennis League. 

They followed their first-week 8-2 win with another by the same score when they faced Black Notley B.

Andy Holmes and James Hicks were unbeaten while Notley’s former men’s singles champion Steve Kerns – out of action for some time before and after a hip operation – got his comeback under way with a win over Joe Meleschko.

Sudbury Nomads, expected to be in the mix at the end of the season, got off to a solid start with a 7-3 win over Liberal B, where Richard Fifield, who joined the club halfway through last season, outscored Nomads regulars Karl Baldwin and Ken Lewis, who both lost to David Razzell.

Rayne A, effectively last year’s B team, introduced newcomer Pandus Ademakinwa, who won two singles in their draw with Notley A. 

Steve Pennell also notched up two, including a win over last season’s men’s singles finalist Luke Burridge.

James Mullane started his season with an unbeaten evening in Liberal A’s draw with Sudbury Wanderers.

Rayne C lead division two after a 9-1 win over their own E team took their points tally to 17 out of 20.  Matthew Brown and Paul Wellington were unbeaten.

Netts D, who had started the season with a 10-0 win, could not repeat the dose against Notley D, who beat them 6-4.

Matt Stephenson was unbeaten, unusually outscoring Graham Chinnery, who won twice.

Equally unusual was the appearance of Ken Lewis back in division two where his three wins helped Sudbury Strollers to a 6-4 win over Yeldham Whitlocks A.  New signing John Colvin added two more.

Charles Calisin’s three singles led Netts C to a 6-4 win over Rayne D.

Finchingfield B lead division three after two big wins. They went one better than last week’s 8-2 by beating Netts E 9-1.  Peter Dacey and Trevor Laird were unbeaten.

Rayne F hava also won both their matches, Dave Whiting leading them to a 7-3 win over Rayne G.

Netts F followed their first-week draw with a 7-3 win over Notley F where James Howard was unbeaten.

Notley G have started the season with matches against their own club’s F and H teams.  After a 6-4 defeat against the F team, they reversed the result in their next match but not before Wayne Wilson had repeated last week’s hat-trick.

New team Sudbury Drifters opened their account with a draw against Yeldham B.  Steve Willis was unbeaten for Yeldham.

Report by Ron Fosker

New – or newish – players were to the fore in the first week of the new Braintree Table Tennis League season.

Champions Netts A got off to a winning start with an 8-2 win over promoted Sudbury Wanderers.

There were expected three wins for Paul Davison and James Hicks but Richard Fifield and David Hitchen, both new to the league last season, got the better of Joe Meleschko.

Alesha Ellis-Austin, also in her second season and promoted this year to division one, joined her Black Notley A teammates in remaining unbeaten against the club’s B team.

There’s nothing new about Chris Parr, Sean Clift and Adam Clift, but they are appearing in Netts B’s colours this season after their move from Black Notley, and opened their account with a 9-1 win over Liberal B.

Paul Lombardi’s time in the league goes back a long way but he can scarcely have played better than his performance for Rayne B against last season’s runners-up Rayne A.  He won his three singles and joined Keith Martin to win the doubles in the 5-5 draw.

In division two, Netts D’s new signing Christopher Gibbons made an unbeaten start to his Braintree career in the 10-0 win over newly promoted Sudbury Strollers. He was joined by JJ Calisin, up a division from last season, and dad Jimmy Calisin.

The other Calisin, Charles, moved up to division two last season and showed his continuing improvement with excellent wins over Dave Marsh and Adi Kamma in Netts C’s 8-2 defeat by potential title challengers Rayne C.

Matthew Brown carried on where he left off last season and was the only one to overcome Calisin.

Last year’s division three champions Finchingfield A got off to an unfortunate start when Peter Clark injured his back and had to pull out after one set of their match against Rayne D.

He had lost at 11-8 in the fifth game against Richard Whiteside, who went on to win his other two singles in the 6-4 win.

Former Liberal player Trevor Laird has joined Finchingfield B in division three and was unbeaten in their 8-2 win over Yeldham Whitlocks B.  Lucien Nolan-Bradford’s evening was similarly unblemished.

Notley H’s new signing Wayne Wilson took his three singles against the club’s E team.  That included a win at 11-9 in the fifth game against Peter Davenport, who lost only nine out of 47 last season.

Karl Bowden started his Braintree League career with three wins for Rayne G in the draw with Netts F.

Aivars Taimins and Jonathan Acharya, both products of Notley’s casual club, made their league debuts for Notley E in the 6-4 win against Notley G.  Taimins won two and Acharya one.

Peter Foster, back in action after a two-year absence through injury, also won twice but none of them could get past Ben Southgate

There were six more familiar names in Rayne F’s 8-2 win over Netts E, two of whom, Conrad Gomes and Dave Whiting, remained unbeaten.

Report by Ron Fosker

A week of very tight results in the Southend Premier division with three of the games going to the wire and ending in a 5-4 scoreline. The first came as Rawreth A inflicted the first defeat of the season on Brand Identity A.  Kevin Read led the way with 3 wins backed up by 2 wins on his Southend debut for Daniel Bronziet, his hatrick denied by Simon Jacob who has started the 25/26 season very well indeed.

The second tight match came as Rawreth B beat Hadleigh Forum A 5-4 despite the player of the match and three wins going to Forum’s Neil Barker. Rawreth’s Debby Auvache, Kim Shead and Andrew Halling all contributing to the win. The final 5-4 result went the way of Hockley A against two man Thorpe Bay B. Notable wins on the sight for Sanjay Saptarshi as he got the better of former Men’s singles champion Matt Spero and the ever reliable Keith Willett.

A 6-3 scoreline next but no less close as we saw 7 of the 9 matches on the night go the distance between Basildon A and Stanford A. Arun Joy proving the difference in this tight affair taking all of his three singles ably supported by Garry Hartgrove and Rob Burton. Martin Archie with two for the visitors.

Elsewhere, Rayleigh Mill continued their solid start to the season with a 6-3 win over Invicta A. Duncan Taylor, Colin Chatfield and Steve Maltby with three, two and one win respectively. A good win in this one for Invicta’s captain Tony Ayliffe over Chatfield.

In the final result of the week a slightly more one sided affair but I guess that was expected as current champions Thorpe Bay A saw off the challenge of Premier Division newcomers Matchpoint  A. Ian Wall, John Poysden and Chris Ballad with three wins a piece.

Report by Duncan Taylor

Hockley B consolidated their position at the top of Division 1. Notwithstanding their 9 – 0 score at Wakering A, there were a couple of very close ties. Keith Abbott edged a victory over Wakering’s Martin Shaughnessy 12 – 10 in the final set. Then Mick Grout, debuting for his new club, took Keith to another five-setter, eventually succumbing 9 – 11. Keith’s team mate David Colwill took the player of the match prize, whilst Eamonn Hall was also unbeaten.
Hadleigh Forum C pushed visiting second-place Hockley C all the way, eventually yielding 4 – 5 in the final rubber of the evening. The visitors’ Stephanie Haddrell narrowly missed out on a hat trick, losing to veteran Graham Farmer 11 – 6 in the fifth. Team mate Will Evesham had no such trouble, taking the POM award for his maximum.
Stanford Le Hope B recorded their first win of the season, taking their match against visiting Basildon B 7 – 2. The home side’s Rob Salvage was unbeaten, whilst team mates Jake Nelson and Dave Hancox got two victories each. Basildon’s Dale Gutteridge and Tony Molisso had to fight hard for their single victories, each winning in their final set.
Rawreth C’s Adi Kamma maintained his unbeaten start to the season when his team visited Mapledene. Team mate David Gatheral’s two wins were his first of the season. Despite two wins from Mapledene’s Bill Smith and one each for Andy Seaman and Lin Roff, Rawreth took the match 5 – 4.

Report by David Barnes

Potential promotion candidates Matchpoint B and Wakering B met this week and it was Wakering who ran out convincing winners 7-2. Callum Turner led the way again with three wins dropping just one set all night with Michael Grout and Andy Deadman both weighing in with a brace each. Dennis Squirrell beat Deadman for one point and Colin Barham got the other for Matchpoint after a close five set battle with Grout clinching the decider 12/10.

While those two battled it out Canvey B  took the top spot with a 7-2 win against Invicta B. In truth the score could have been a lot closer four games going to five sets but all won by Canvey. The one player who wasn’t involved in a five set match was Canvey’s Terry Giddens who raced through his matches winning all three without dropping a set. Tony Westwell added two more and Des Duffield one before he had to concede his last match through injury. Andrew St. John claimed Invicta’s other point beating Duffield and he also took Westell to five sets losing 11/13 in the decider.

Stanford C picked up their first win of the season thrashing Basildon C 8-1. Mike Trendell took the POTM honours with a hat trick with Vaughan Chambers also winning three plus two more wins from Peter Moxham. Chambers had to fight hard for two of his wins going to five sets against Andy Roff and Victor Galben. Galben and teammate Michael Elemide are both making their debuts in the league this season and will need time to settle at this level. Elemide did have the satisfaction of getting Basildon’s consolation point beating Moxham in four sets.

Final game of the week turned out to be the closest and one in which everyone turned out to be a winner. Hockley E just got the edge on Matchpoint C 5-4 with every player getting at least one win. The scoreline could, in fact, easily have gone the other way as the two matches that went to five sets both went the way of Hockley. John George went two sets down to Zachary Samuels but stormed back to win the next three 11/9 12/10 15/13the closest encounter of the evening. That sequence was repeated when Amar Al-Soufi took on Roger Sherman also losing the first two sets before winning 11/9 11/8 12/10. George and Al-Soufi both added a second win and Neal Klyman gave Hockley their fifth point denying Ollie Milchard’s hat trick for Matchpoint. Sherman and Zachary Samuels got their other points.

Player of the Week – Terry Giddens

Team of the Week – Wakering B

Report by Paul Strutt

In Division 3 a young Evolve ‘B’ team took on a (considerably) older and more experienced Hadleigh Forum ‘D’ team. The evening started well for the juniors when Oliver Willson earned a three set win over Dean Johnston in the opening rubber.  Thereafter, however, it was one way traffic as Forum reeled off the remaining eight games with the loss of only two sets.

In the first of this week’s matches, Canvey ‘C’ visited Stanford ‘D’, but found their hosts in an uncompromising mood.  Despite some close 5-setters, a 9-0 home win was the outcome.  Hat-tricks for Andrew Jessop, David Arnett and Toby Cornelius, a youngster on his first league outing.

Both of the Evolve junior teams were in action this week.  To start with, Evolve ‘B’ travelled to Hockley to take on their ‘F’ team. It was a tough evening, though, for the youngsters who managed to win only one set against the Hockley trio of Ben Brown, Bob Garlick and Gary Beck.

The following night, another visit to Hockley, this time by the Evolve ‘A’ team.  On this occasion, however, a much better outcome for Evolve.  Their opponents, Hockley ‘G’, are another all junior team, but on the night they were no match for the Evolve trio of Sasha Syderenko, Zac Eighteen and the POTM, Miles Bygrave.  Hockley’s only point on the night came from Boris Kolev who overcame Zac in a close 4-setter.

At the end of the week, a much closer affair as Hadleigh Forum ‘D’ played host to Wakering ‘C’.  Things were going well for the home team as they lead 4-1, only for Wakering to claw their way back and a force a deciding game.  This saw the evergreen Douglas Brown up against Deepak Nanda, making his league debut.  Things started well for Douglas as he opened up a two set lead, but Deepak had other ideas, as he took the next two sets 15/13, 18/16 to force a fifth set. Whether he ran out of steam or Douglas’s experience came into play, I don’t know, but it was Douglas who  eventually came out on top with an 11/5 win, to secure a 5/4 win for his team.

Report by Dave Woolmer

Cold Norton B took an early grip on the top Division of the Burnham & District Table Tennis Winter League this week as they recorded a sizeable win whilst their main rivals stumbled again. 

Cold Norton B rattled off a second 9-1 victory this week leaving them firmly on top of the Burnham pile in these early stages of the campaign.  This week’s victims were a strong Mapledene B side featuring the giant twins of Keith Willett and Glenn Johnson.  The contest itself was much closer than the scoreline suggests as Willett took a game off everyone and secured the Mapledene point in a rankings upsetting victory over the tricky Eric Green.  Green then went deep into Fergie time to finally secure a win over Johnson in a 13-11 final set extravaganza that saw Johnson take an early 2-0 lead before the Green gears were cranked up.  Hat-tricks for Cold Norton’s Ian Wall and Sam Lowman, who also partnered up for the doubles extra point. 

The only other top flight match this week saw the return of former singles champion Daniel Young as he ventured out for the first time with his new Woodham A crew.  Young was involved in all the excitement as he went all out against fierce rivals John Poysden and Keith Adams – in two extraordinary rollercoaster 5 set battles.  Young lost out to Adams 11-9 in the decider in his first key battle, but then used this disappointment to rally himself when facing the very competitive Poysden.  Poysden levelled the match at 2-2 but this must have just irked Young as he rattled off the final set in record time to secure the point.  In between these games Young and new partner Sanjay Saptarshi came from behind for a notable 5 set doubles bonus victory over Poysden and Adams.  Fambridge’s third player Gurj Bhambra had an off night losing out to Young and Chris Hancox before having to retire unwell.  So all of this led to an impressive hat-trick for Adams, a welcome return for Young the younger, and a stalemate draw that dampens Fambridge’s hopes of reclaiming the title.

In Division 2 the early pacesetters are Woodham C and Mapledene C who have already opened up a gap at the head of the table.   This week an all-firing Woodham C trio dispatched the usually very competitive full strength Maldon B side.  In a final 8-2 scoreline there were trebles for Tiny Tim Pulham and Peter Harverson (average age of 38), with Alan Dadswell notching a good win over Colin Barrell.  Pulham and Dadswell then did the unthinkable and won the doubles against the usually unbeatable Barrell/Steve Aspland combo.  For Maldon Garry Eames did well to overcome the Dadswell threat in a turbulent 5 setter.  Mapledene C were held to account by Blackwater A and their wide variety of styles and rubbers.  It all ended in an honourable draw with the forehand of Andy Seaman taking a treble for his Mapledene posse.  Maldon A dominated the Maldon derby against their C team, winning out 8-2 with a hat-trick for Lloyd Bennett-Smith that required some thinking about when he took on ex-team-mate Dawn Baldry and found himself at deuce in the fifth with his hard-hitting opponent.  Even at 13-13 it was hard to call, but Bennett-Smith just edged those last 2 points for the bragging rights.  Baldry won her other matches to keep the A-team in check!  In the mid-table clash between Stow Maries B and Cold Norton D it was the sparingly used Dave Moles who shone brightest as he poked and prodded his way to a season debut hat-trick for his Stow side as they secured a draw.  Perhaps they’ll call on him more frequently now.

Blackwater C and D are already basking in the Daylight between themselves and the rest of the Division 3 teams.  Both had in-house victories this week as the C team defeated F, and D team bettered the E team offering – all maintaining the alphabetical equilibrium.  The F team’s Jason Bush was the only thorn in the progress of the C team as he took his team’s 2 points, leaving Gary Smith as the only unbeaten player of the night – a straightforward and accomplished set of 3 set victories for the serving maestro.  The D team had Davids Sage and Benstead to thank for all their points as they beat the E team 7-3.   A lot of 5 setters in this derby that almost spilled over into the following morning.  Kath Little and Deb Ginn both took 5 sets to get the better of Jacqui Treacey, Benstead needed all 10 sets to get past Little and Phil West, and Sage came from behind against Ginn to take the final 2 sets 11-9 for a close fought win for his hat-trick.  St Lawrence’s David Bateman had a cracking night as his team took on Maldon D – he was the only one smiling in the Bay though as his hat-trick combined with all the other points from his team still only added up to 3.  The Maldon trio of Shirely Carroll, James Raymond, and Luca Riedling all recording 2 wins a-piece.

The Burnham League was saddened this week at the loss of one of its former stalwart players – Ralph Gibson – who passed away this week after a battle with illness.  Ralph most latterly played for the Mayland club and will be sorely missed by all his Clubmates and opponents alike.

Report by Eamonn Hall

Pic 1 – Eric Green Versus Glenn Johnson going into the fifth set

Pic 2 – Cold Norton’s Sam Lowman adding yet another treble to his record

Pic 3 – League Chairman Alan Dadswell in his win over Colin Barrell this week

Pic 4 – David Sage taking on the tricky Kath Little in the Blackwater Derby this week

Pic 5 – Ralph Gibson RIP playing in the Burnham League

Southend League Premier Division

A player of the match performance from Simon Jacob saw Brand Identity to their second win in two weeks. Simon picked up three wins against Basildon A  dropping only one game in the process. Brother David picked up two wins and the final win came from Adam Jackman giving a final scoreline of Brand Identity 6, Basildon A 3.

Mitchell Jones of Stanford A picked up his first of what I’m sure will be many maximums this week as he delivered three comprehensive wins over Dan Patynski, Sanjay Saptarshi and Tarun Goel of Hockley A. It wasn’t quite enough to get his team over the line as their only other win of the night was Martin Archie over Tarun Goel leading to a 5v4 win for Hockley.

Another really tight affair at Rawreth on Wednesday night as Thorpe Bay A rode into town and recorded a 5-4 win over their hosts Rayleigh Mill. Player of the match was a Miller though as Liam Squirrell went undefeated. Duncan Taylor managed a win over Chris Ballard for the Mill but that was it for the Millers as two wins a piece for John Poysden and Ian Wall and a single win for Ballard over Steve Sawyer was enough for Thorpe Bay to take the overall victory.

In the final match of the week, Hadleigh Forum overcame Invicta 6-3. Neil Barker starred with three wins over Tony Ayliffe, Andrew Murray and Malcolm Henstock. Barker was backed up by Martin Turner with two wins and Berti Makolli with one win. Andrew Murray the best performer for the home side as he got the better of Turner & Makolli.

Report by Duncan Taylor

Division 1

After just two rounds of matches in the new season, both Hockley teams stand proudly at the top of the division.
The B team sit top of the shop courtesy of a comfortable 8 – 1 home victory over Stanford Le Hope B. Maximums from player of the match Joe Odegbami and David Colwill, together with two wins from skipper Stuart Adshead, made it a torrid evening for the visitors. Stanford’s Rob Salvage got their side’s one victory to avoid embarrassment.
Will Evesham led the way for Hockley C when they demolished visiting Wakering A 7 – 2. In a nail-biting opening contest there were some great rallies. Will secured a 12 – 10 win over Paul England in the fifth set to take the rubber for the home side. Will’s younger brother James stepped in for his first game in this division demonstrating some excellent forehands, but was overcome by the experience and variation of shots from Martin Shaughnessy. The scores tell the story and there were some excellent displays of table tennis from both teams. Jaspreet Singh’s counter attack and serves caused a few problems, but James overcame both to secure the winning game for Hockley. Man of the match goes to Will for his composure in leading the team and securing a maximum, although Stephanie Haddrell also contributed a hat trick of successes. 
Elsewhere Canvey A bounced back from a home defeat last week to overcome hosts Basildon B 5 – 4. The home side’s Chudi Ukpaka proved impossible to beat on the night. However, two wins from Canvey’s Peter Cray, playing in his first match of the season, together with two wins from the ever-reliable Ray Wilson, and a single victory for Bob Skews, got their side over the line. Kieran Wood took the remaining point for Basildon.
There was a ‘local derby’ this week when Hadleigh Forum C entertained their B team. The B team’s veteran Mick Tappenden gave his C team colleagues a lesson with an unbeaten performance, helping his side to a 6 – 3 win. Team mate Anthon Ranjit-Singh chipped in with two victories, and Tony Jacks added another. Paul Fawell took two wins for the home side, narrowly losing to Mick in the fifth set. In a close final rubber of the evening, the C team’s Mark Everard edged to victory over Tony 12 – 10 in the final set of five.

Report by David Barnes

Division 2

Invicta B sit proudly joint top of the division alongside Matchpoint B after a 5-4 win against Matchpoint C. The newly promoted team followed up last week’s 9-0 humbling of Runnymede with a closely fought win although Matchpoint’s Samuel Morgan took the POTM award with his second successive hat trick. Andrew St. John and John Blackman both won two games for Invicta with Sarah Ball adding the fifth win. Roger Sherman got Matchpoint’s other point.

Matchpoint B will be a force again this season and they brushed aside the challenge of Stanford C 8-1 with hat tricks from Dennis Squirrell and Hannah Harbour who took the POTM award not conceding a set. Surprise of the night was Stanford’s Chris Crooks defeat of seasoned campaigner John Lott. Lott led by two sets to one but was edged out 12/10 in the fourth with Crooks winning 11/5 in the decider. Crooks went close again to another win in his next match against Squirrell, 2-1 down again he took the fourth to level and then lost a marathon fifth set 17/15. 

Canvey B sit in third place after an 8-1 mauling of Basildon C. Kevin Walsingham and Des Duffield were both undefeated with Tony Westwell picking up a brace. Dave Walton got Basildon’s solitary point. No matches went to five sets but Westwell’s match against Andy Roff racked up an incredible 97 points in only four sets, Westwell winning 11/6 12/14 15/13 14/12.

Final game of the week saw Runnymede go down at home to Hockley E. Richard Kidd made his debut for Hockley in the winter league, captained the side and achieved a hat trick to boot! He was adequately backed up by Richard Coulon with two wins and Ross Collins, playing up from the F team, also with a brace. Steve Wisbey did his best for Runnymede winning two games and also led Kidd 2-1 before losing the fourth set 11/9 and the fifth 11/5.

Player of the Week – Hannah Harbour

Team of the Week – Matchpoint B

Report by Paul Strutt

As we enter the second week of competition in Division 3, it is Invicta ‘C’ who are the early front-runners.  Maximums from Mike Keeble, David Barlow and Harry Venables gave them a resounding 9-0 win over Matchpoint ‘D’. Matchpoint’s Cooper Hill pushed David Barlow all the way, but couldn’t secure the point for his team, finally succumbing in the 5^th set. Harry Venables continued his fine unbeaten run, in what is his debut season in the League.

The first Hockley ‘derby’ of the season proved to be a tight affair, with the youngsters of the ‘G’ team coming out on top in a 5-4 thriller against the ‘F’ team.  All 3 ‘G’ team players contributed to this win, although none of them could topple Ross Collins who was deservedly the POTM.

Wakering ‘C’ unveiled three new players, to our League, as they entertained Stanford ‘D’.  Two of the newcomers, Jacek Bednarek and Joanna Gaudini, got on the score sheet, but it was the visitors who came away with a 7-2 victory, thanks to hat-tricks from Martin Winter and James Parker and a single win for Karen Kempster.

Report by David Woolmer

Week 2 of the Burnham & District Table Tennis Winter League and normal service has resumed in the top division as the shell shocked pre-season favourites get back to winning ways after disastrous opening week showings.

The bookies 3 favourite teams from Division 1 all recorded impressive 9-1 victories this week – a great start for the defending champions Cold Norton B who saw off newly promoted Stow Maries A.  Cold Norton had a great week last week without lifting a paddle as their nearest and dearest expected rivals both fell to unexpected opening week losses but normal service resumed as both Mapledene A and Fambridge both recorded their own 9-1 adrenalin filled and morale boosting conquests.  It was a relatively comfortable evening of sport for Cold Norton B at the Latchingdon arena with hat-tricks for Eric Green and a 9-dart treble for player of the match Dave Richardson.  Captain Dan Anderson was looking treble bound himself having already taken the scalps of Ken Sheard and Richard Storey and seemingly comfortable at 2-0 up against Gary Brignall but Autumn can blow hot and cold and something changed in the weather after the gladiators came out for the 3^rd set.  Brignall went ballistic, and as the leaves fell down around the battling Anderson he was unable to weather the storm as Brignall took the whitewash-saving point for his Stow crew.  It was a similar story as Fambridge tortured Woodham B with a professional victory.  Bruce Kettle reversed his losing hat-trick of opening week with an unblemished winning treble this week – not a set dropped, not even close!  England’s finest, John Poysden, looking far too suave to be eligible for the Over 70s crowd, also notched his first hat-trick of the season, including a tight 5 setter against one of his bogey opponents Sanjay Saptarshi.  At 9-0 up it was all going swimmingly for the mighty Fambridge.  The final match-up of the night saw Saptarshi enter the Octagon to face Gurj Bhambra – currently unbeaten altho’ he had a 5 set scare against Tony Bonnici earlier in the evening where he came back from 0-2 down to win through. A topsy turvy one this one and after the initial slugfest the match was stalemated at 2-2.  The final set saw Bhambra falter as the ‘awesome’ Saptarshi held his nerve to gain his team’s single point right at the death.  In the final 9-1 bloodbath, Mapledene A outclassed Woodham A.  Woodham’s Daniel Piglet providing some resistance in his matches at least, losing out in 5 to both Steve Muth and George Reeves, and then in 4 against Burnham debutant Dan Bronziet – a very welcome addition to the league’s roster.  Muth and Bronziet completed their hat-tricks in style.  Reeves however encountered some unexpected resistance from the plucky Graham Briggs who was bouncing around like a madman retrieving everything Reeves threw at him.  At deuce in the deciding set the big money was on Reeves holding his nerve but in another shock it went the other way as Briggs notched up what he later described as the best win in his 20 year career.  Reeves, as expected, was magnanimous in his praise for his victor.

A busy week in Division 2 saw a schedule of much closer encounters.  Stow Maries B edged their match against Blackwater B needing the doubles to secure a 6-4 victory.  All this despite Blackwater’s smooth operator Simon Quelch bringing his A-game and going home undefeated for a losing player-of-the-match performance.  In the Maldon derby everyone was able to secure at least a point for their team as Maldon B came out 6-4 victors, again needing the doubles bonus point to secure that winning margin.  Dawn Baldry was the best of the Maldon C trio with 2 wins, which was equalled by Steve Aspland and Colin Barrell for the victorious Maldon B.  Maldon A travelled to Mapledene C this week and toddled home with a hard fought draw.  Colin Napper and Ross Kirby both took two wins for the Maldonites, with Denniss Squirrell matching that for Mapledene C, and also pairing up with Bill Smith for the crucial doubles point.  In the match of the night – and probably a lengthy affair – Maldon’s Hamish Innes outlasted Smith in a rollercoaster 5 setter that went all the way to 11-9 in the decider.  Newbies Cold Norton E bounced back from their opening week defeat to secure both a 7-3 win and the Cold Norton bragging rights as they tore apart their own D team.  Hat-tricks for both Dick Wyman and Neil Want, and a nod to young Oscar Wyman who worked hard but lost his singles but still paired up with his grandad for an impressive doubles victory – 12-10 in the fifth!

In Division 3 the Blackwater winning streak had to come to an end – and with a Blackwater derby scheduled for the Monday it didn’t take a genius to work out when this might happen.  It fell to Blackwater E to let the Club down as they allowed the Blackwater F trio to beat them 7-3 with Keith Thompson in the starring role with a fine hat-trick of wins, and a supporting role in the doubles as Vanessa Thompson took the lead and brought home the spoils.   For the dejected E team Andy Simmonds had a good evening with 2 victories out of his 3 matches.  Blackwater D kept up their impressive start with a crunching 9-1 win over a strong looking St Lawrence team.  Trebles for Jacqui Treacy and bat twisting Roger Tiffin.  Thirdwheel David Sage came close to emulating his team-mates but fell to the defensive minded Mike Burton.  To continue the theme of good starts Blackwater C crushed Woodham D with an imposing 8-2 margin.  Woodham’s hard-hitting Chris Crooks was the only Woodhamite to take a singles point as he defeated Peter Davenport in the battle of the youth.  Crooks then partnered up with Jean Chasmer for the second point in a fiery doubles victory.  For the triumphant Blackwater team there were hat-tricks for Andrea Alleyne and Neil Thompson – with Thompson needing all 5 sets to get past the in-form Crooks.  The final fixture of the week was another Maldon derby – they are officially like London buses.  Another close fought battle of Maldon ensued and we must now wait until the reverse fixture to see if we can separate the Maldon D and E teams following this week’s draw.  Maldon E’s John Leavett was the star player on the night with an unmatched treble of singles victories, with the D team’s Shirley Carroll and Luca Riedling both recording a brace of wins for the bulk of their points haul.  So despite the disappointing loss for the Blackwater E team this set of results still leaves the Blackwater Club occupying all top 4 spots in the early leaderboard.

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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer

Burnham & District Table Tennis League

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Pic 1 – Bruce Kettle back to hat-trick form with a win over Tony Bonnici

Pic 2 – England’s finest John Poysden gracing the Burnham League this week

Pic 3 – The Stow Maries B team stalwarts – Nicky Reece-Ford, Dave Marsh, and Peter Hance

Pic 4 – Blackwater F’s Vanessa and Keith Thompson in great form this week.

Pic 5 – Woodham A’s Graham Briggs on top of the world after his ‘best win ever’ over George Reeves

It was a welcome return to fixtures in the Southend & District Table Tennis League this week and we have the early results from the Premier Division to report on.

Rayleigh Mill were busy in the transfer market this summer and it was one of their new signings Liam Squirrell who made an immediate impact with three wins against perennial title challengers Rawreth A. Squirrell led the Millers to a 5-4 win with his wins over Charles Sweeney, Eric Green and Babul McLeod and the win was secured with two good wins from Colin Chatfield over McLeod and Green, the latter coming at the crucial point of the night with the scores at 4-4.

After that initial close affair, a couple of comprehensive wins up next as there was  a straightforward win for Rawreth B over Stanford A. A hat-trick of wins for Peter Barrett, Kim Shead and James Elliot securing a 9-0 win for Paul Brown’s side and it was the same scoreline when Hadleigh Forum met Thorpe Bay B, Gurj Bhambra, Keith Willett and Mat Spero ensuring the win for the Bay.

Reigning champions Thorpe Bay A were in a similarly miserly mood as they started their defence with a whitewash of Invicta A. The ever reliable Paul Sayer, Ian Wall and Mark Stones proving too good on the night and one would expect this not to be their only 9-0  of this campaign.

And finally. a good start for Basildon A in the Premier division as they beat Matchpoint A 8-1. Three wins a piece for Garry Hartgrove and Rob Burton and two from Lee Marson ensured the win, however, there was a good consolation win for Stephen Heard over Marson.

Report by Duncan Taylor

In Division 1 both Hockley TTC teams got off to cracking starts in this, the first round of matches for the new season.
An Elliot Brackenbury hat trick inspired Hockley C to a 7 – 2 victory on their visit to Stanford Le Hope B. Two wins each for team mates Tim Pang and Stephanie Haddrell ensured their success. Rob Salvage was the home star’s hero, winning both their two points.
7 – 2 in favour of the away side was also the result when Hockley B turned up at Canvey A. Joe Odegbami took the accolades with an undefeated maximum, but he was well supported by David Colwill and Stuart Adshead who contributed two apiece. Canvey’s Ray Wilson was again their main threat, collecting two successes. 
A new look Wakering A kicked off the new season with a 5 – 4 home win over Hadleigh Forum C. However, it was Callum Turner, their main man from last season, who took the Player of the Match award with a hat trick. New signings Barbara Chabior and Martin Shaughnessy each recorded one victory for Wakering. Graham Farmer and Mark Everard won two matches each for the visitors.
Rawreth C’s Adi Kamma took the POM award when his side went to Hadleigh Forum B. Unfortunately, though, it was not enough to ensure his team’s success. Two wins for Tony Jacks and Mick Tappenden, together with one from Jim Stait meant Forum came out 5 – 4 winners. Veteran Colin Clements got Rawreth’s other win.
No player was undefeated in the match between Mapledene and visiting Basildon B. Peter Hilton’s two wins for the visitors was deemed mathematically enough to give him the POM prize. However, Mapledene’s Mike Johnston and Bill Smith also won twice, as did Basildon’s Dale Gutteridge. It took a solitary victory from John Tendler to give the home team a 5 – 4 win.

Report by David Barnes

The winter league kicked off this week and there were differing fortunes in Division2 for Invicta B and Basildon C who were both promoted from Division 3 last season.

Title holders Basildon went down 7-2 at home to Matchpoint C but Invicta, who finished in second place, started with a 9-0 thrashing of Runnymede. This leaves Invicta top after week 1 – not a bad start!

The Invicta trio of Trisha Winter, John Blackman and Keith Baxter lost just five sets all night the only real resistance coming in the last game of the evening. Winter, leading 2-0, was pegged back to two sets all by Barrie Edgar but won the decider 11/6 to confirm the whitewash.

Basildon C, by contrast, found it much harder going against Matchpoint C for whom Richard Sloman and Samuel Morgan were both in fine form winning all their games. Sloman had to work hard for his wins being taken to five sets twice by Andy Roff and Victor Galben but Morgan dropped just one set all night. Oliver Milchard provided the other point beating Galben in five extremely close sets and 16/14 in the decider. Roff and Michael Elmide both got the better of Milchard for Basildon’s points.

Matchpoint B also got off to a winning start beating Canvey B 6-3 and had two hat trick heroes in John Lott and Hannah Harbour. Harbour, in fact, achieved the perfect hat trick not dropping a set all night against the experienced Canvey line up of Kevin Walsingham, Des Duffield and Terry Giddens. Lott only conceded one set so it was a pretty early night with young Lotte Mills finding it just a bit too hard losing all her games.

Final match of the week saw Hockley D take on a re-vamped Wakering B side. An influx of players has seen Wakering now able to field three teams in Divisions 1, 2 and 3 retaining their position in Div 1 despite finishing one but bottom. This set up sees Callum Turner again turning out in Div 2 and he duly won all his games to chalk up a perfect hat trick. Paul England and Andy Deadman chipped in with two wins each, England being extended to five sets by Hockley debutant Howard Collins and losing in four close sets to Paul Ogden. Deadman came within one set of also achieving a hat trick but in the final game of the evening he was edged out in five sets by Paul Strutt who came back from 2-1 down to win the last two sets 11/7, 11/7.

Team of the Week – Invicta B

Player of the Week – Hannah Harbour

Report by Paul Strutt

The first match of the new season in Division 3 saw a young Evolve ‘B’  team make the journey up the A13 to take on Stanford ‘D’ Unfortunately, a straight sets win for Oliver Willson over Karen Kempster was their only success on the night.  Thereafter, Stanford got into their stride and took the remaining games in double quick time, without dropping a set.

Evolve ‘A’ were also in action this week, hosting Invicta ‘C’ at the Megacentre.  Again, a solitary win, this time for Harley Dowding over Steve Lennox, was their only reward on the night.  This particular game was very close as Harley took the first two sets before Steve rallied to level matters. However, Harley held his nerve in the final end to close it out 11-9.  Steve won his remaining games, and hat-tricks from Harry Venables and Mike Keeble meant an 8/1 win and a good start to the season for Invicta.

Hat-tricks for Steve Kemp and Che Martin plus a single win for David Coverley saw Canvey ‘C’ get the better of Matchpoint ‘D’. 7/2 the final score.  Poppy Sherman and Cooper Hill with a win apiece were the points scorers for the home side.

A battling maximum for ‘young’ Douglas Brown was all in vain as his Hadleigh Forum ‘D’ side slipped to a 6/3 defeat at home to Hockley ‘F’.  Two wins each here for George Clark, Robert Garlick and Gary Beck.  Mention should be made of Forum skipper Jean Catley who took all her games to a 5^th set, but ended up winless on the night.

Report by Dave Woolmer

The Burnham & District Table Tennis League is back in business and the opening week saw two upsets in the top division and an unprecedented whitewash of victories for all 6 of the Blackwater Clubs.  What an amazing start for the Maldon based outfit, as they rubbed their local produce into the wounds of their humbled opponents. 

The opening contests in Division 1 saw two of last year’s Championship contenders bested by much lower ranked opponents.  Paddy Power (and other local Bookmakers) have already had to restructure their odds to allow for these momentous results.  The pre-season favourites Mapledene A fell to Woodham B in a 6-4 contest that saw Woodham’s Sanjay Saptarshi unbeaten for his opening hat-trick of the season.  Harry Sawford chipped in with 2 points including an impressive straight sets win over Steve Muth.  The final point came from Captain Eamonn Hall with his own straight sets win over Pat White.  The match of the night saw Sawford and ex-Woodham team-mate Dan Patynski go toe-to-toe in an all out 5 set slugfest that Patynski eventually won after trailing 2-1 earlier on in the match.  Patynski was Mapledene’s best player on the night as he opened his account with 2 singles and the doubles in combination with Muth.  In the second shock of the week the Galacticos of Fambridge were subdued by a very talented and hard-working Mapledene B trio.  Fambridge star player Keith Adams did not disappoint with his personal hat-trick that included a tricky 13-11 fifth set triumph over the unbeaten Glenn Johnson.  For Mapledene the damage was done by the quiet and demure pairing of Johnson and Keith Willett who won 2 singles a piece and teamed up for an excellent 5 set doubles bonus point.  Simon Jacob completed the scoring for Mapledene with a 3 set win over Bruce Kettle.  These early shocks have set the pigeons amongst the cats for sure.

In Division 2 there were plenty of familiar faces and the results went largely as expected given the teams on display.  Blackwater A and B both won their matches against the lower Cold Norton sides.  Blackwater A didn’t take too long to get the measure of the brand new Cold Norton E side where only the experienced Dick Wyman proved difficult to beat.  Wyman took both of his team’s points, but was unable to cope with the loopy forehand attack of Neil Freeman which saw Freeman take his first (of many expected) hat-tricks in this division.  Freeman was ably wing-manned by Blackwater stalwarts Alan Scammell and Denis Balic.  The B team posted a 7-3 victory over the stronger Cold Norton D side with the dancing queen that is Mervyn Perriman unbeaten all night in singles and doubles for a very well deserved Player of the Match accolade.  Louis Gunn partnered Perriman in the doubles victory and added 2 singles victories to boost the score for Blackwater.  Mapledene C fielded a strong trio for the opener against Maldon B and came away with a healthy 8-2 victory with hat-tricks for Dave Woolmer and Tony Ayliffe.  In the final match of the Division Woodham C fielded an extremely strong line-up that bodes well for the season.  Posting a 7-3 triumph over the tough to beat Stow Maries B side with a hat-trick for young star Peter Harverson, and 2 wins for new captain Scott Perry and new signing Tim Pulham.

The Blackwater Siege continued unabated in Division 3 as Blackwater teams C to F won all 4 of the divisional contests to totally dominate the early leader board!.  The very talented C team made fast work of the Maldon E side with Maldon’s trusty John Leavett saving the whitewash with a respectable 4 set win over Andrea Alleyne.  For Blackwater there were hat-tricks for both Colin Barham and Gary Smith.  The D side included a winning return to Burnham for Roger Tiffin in a 7-3 turnover of Maldon D.  All 3 of the D team posted 2 wins as they all fell to the defensive know-how of Maldon’s transfer window signing Tim Huxtable.  For Blackwater Dave Benstead and Jacqui Treacy provided the remaining points.   The E team had the toughest evening as they squeezed past Woodham D with a tight 6-4 margin in a team effort where the trio of Kath Little, Keith Thompson and Deb Ginn all won 2 a-piece.  For Woodham Chris Crooks won 2 and debutant Jean Chasmer added another point before they paired up for an excellent doubles bonus point.  The F team had a much easier time against St Lawrence as they emerged victorious with a decent 8-2 points haul.  A 9-dart hat-trick for Jason Bush as he starts the season in style, and a commendable hat-trick for David McHattie, with Peter Hughes chipping in with 2 wins having lost an epic 5 set battle with the effervescent Dave Siggins.  Siggins and Nigel Brand then upset the odds with an unexpected doubles win to keep the rampant Blackwater trio in check – just a little bit!

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Eamonn Hall, Press Officer

Burnham & District Table Tennis League

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John Poysden’s recent call up to the England team taking part in the Home International Tournament came as a big but very welcome surprise, and before starting his first match he was further honoured by being made team captain. Not surprising then that, used as he is to playing in numerous competitions around the country, he was feeling a little bit nervous before playing his first game.

The Home International Tournament was played over three days at Nottingham Trent University and featured teams from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Team matches featured first before individual singles and doubles matches in age bands from Over 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 75’s.

John said ” as a competitor and a representative of England I wanted to do my best and not let myself, my teammates or my country down.” John certainly didn’t disappoint leading by example as the tournament unfolded.

On day one in the team events England were able to field two teams in a round robin format England A being Phil Bowen and Gary Baldwin and England B John and David Tiplady. These pairs actually played the first match and it turned to be a convincing win for the A team 4-1. The format was four singles matches and one doubles. Both A and B teams then proceeded to win all their other games which meant England A took the coveted gold medal and England B the silver. A first medal then for John who finished with 10 wins out of 12, an average of 83%.

The doubles events started on the second day and John and his England teammates would have started as firm favourites for this. Both pairs, Bowen and Baldwin and Poysden and Tiplady, duly made their way to the final where John and David managed to reverse the previous day’s result winning 17/15 11/4 11/7. Gold for John!

The singles event started the following day and, not surprisingly, the four England players lived up to expectations and all reached the semi- finals. These players know each others games well having met in different competitions around the country. John had beaten Phil Bowen recently only to lose to him in the team event and he had beaten Gary Baldwin too the last time they met, so he would have been fairly confident when they faced each other in one semi whilst Bowen and Tiplady met in the other. Unfortunately for John he couldn’t repeat that victory losing in four sets 7/11 11/7 8/11 9/11. Baldwin went on to beat Tiplady in the final.

Mention should also be made of another Essex player, Debbie Auvache, who represented England in the Over 60’s. She reached the semi-final of the singles losing to the eventual winner Jane Vickers, and with partner Carrie Cope also reached the semi- final of the doubles. Debbie and her partner went one better in the team event winning gold for England. Overall England had a clean sweep of all 10 team events in all age categories.

The three day competition tested both physical fitness and concentration John playing 26 matches overall winning 22 and losing just 4. Not a bad start for the new England captain!

John said ” coming away from my first England experience with a gold medal and a silver medal was fantastic and I am naturally very pleased. My England teammates in the 70’s all did well and we made a clean sweep of the 10 medals available.”

Congratulations to John, Debbie and all his England teammates – they well and truly delivered!